1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a closure for a liquid container, comprising a plug manufactured from at least partially flexible material. The invention also relates to methods for placing such a closure into an opening in a liquid container and removing thereof from an opening in a liquid container.
2) Description of the Prior Art
The closing of liquid containers is generally known. In addition to closures of rigid materials (screw caps, lids, breakable closures and so on), large-scale use is made of closures of flexible sealing material. Examples hereof are flexible plugs and corks. Particularly when closing (drink) bottles, and more particularly wine bottles, corks are applied on a large scale. Such corks are traditionally made from natural cork (usually from the cork oak), although the use of ‘corks’ manufactured from (foamed) plastic materials has recently been on the rise. The drawback of both types of cork is that, when they are fully placed in the liquid container, they can only be removed with an assist means (corkscrew), which may be inconvenient in use. A further drawback is that only by exerting very considerable force can existing corks be removed and (re)placed in an opening in a liquid container.
The object of the present invention is to provide a closure for a liquid container with a plug which is manufactured from flexible material and which can be removed from a liquid container without auxiliary tool and which can be replaced in simple manner in an opening of a liquid container.